When it started out 'butt hurt' implied someone was angry and bitter and lashing out helplessly like a child who had just been spanked. The sodomy connotation came along after people started saying 'raped' instead of defeated.

It's Pretty obvious why these companies are now using 3rd party PR teams to market games - It's because the business they do is shady. They wine and dine journalists, at the same time scheme how to punish journalists that do not play nice. And once someone messes up they can point the finger and cut and run. 2K, NO you don't get off that easy.

I agree with the firm. How dare those sites have opinions. That game has been in development since before the first Duke game released and it gets 4 and 5s in reviews? Madness. Surely after all the years of blood sweat and tears, this game is true awesomeness. Nah forget what I said, it sucks.

Its really time for the game industry to grow up! Companies have been doing this crap for years if your game sucks it sucks. Instead of attacking the reviewers how about you make a better game next time so they cant give you a low review.The movie industry learned this along time ago roger ebert can give movies low scores all day long hes not blacklisted for it. So these publishers and game makers need to change their ways and let reviewers do their jobs without threats of reprisal.

Just because a game (movie) gets a bad review, doesn't mean it's bad. Duke Forever is classic Duke and for that I give it 8. It is in no way innovative or inspiring, it is entertaining. Isn't that what we play games for? watch movies?

I personally haven't played the game but Gamespot's review describes the game as being a first-person shooter with very little first person shooting but with long boring and tedious driving and platform sections. The game has an average of around 4.5 out of 10. I think I can safely assume it sucks from that information.

Don't be naive people, you can bet your ass 2k let hired these guys with the intention they would push the boundaries of ethics. Do you guy remember the Strip joint converted into a press event for Duke Nukem? that was probably the Redner group's doing - of course approved by 2k. But when the sh*t hits the fan it's time to stop approving of their work. These groups are hired to raise meta critic scores unjustly. The point of this article is not a good one, its good that he missed it.

There's a huge difference between using a strip joint to promote Duke Nukem, which makes perfect sense considering the game's content, and a PR company trying to strongarm reviewers who were doing their job. The group that 2K hired did their work and then tried to blackmail their clients. That goes against all practices of good business ethics.

2K should disassociate themselves from Redner. They are in the right here.

Some of the reviews have been downright nasty and hate filled about this game. I don't agree with a PR company threatening to with hold games from reviewers. However reviewers do have a responsibility to review games in a proper fashion and some of the reviews I have read about Duke Nukem actually disgusted me.

I am glad I didn't listen to the reviewers and went ahead and bought the game.

Well said, of course people are entitled to voice their opinions. But as a reviewer one should be civilized, You can give a game a terrible review but be civil about it at the same time, I've seen it so.

But through the anonymity of the web reviewers can be extra nasty, all for teh hitz..

Good on 2K. Now, all they need to do now is get a good development company to work on the franchise with a goal of making it relevant today rather than maintaining the clunky elements of FPSes from a century ago.

I do agree that a ton of game reviewers put more vitriol than necessary into reviews. But this isn't news anymore, just a sign of how far we've fallen that we consider certain people to be credible in the field of writing about games.

Is one of the worst games I have played this gen, even after installing the game to the hard drive on my 360 the game is plagued with constant 35-45sec load screens. You get to play for around 5-6mins then are hit with those loads constantly on top of which very poor visuals, texture streaming, jaggies AND has crashed my console twice since playing and even turning off the console doesnt work you have to literally unplug it from the mains!!

I have beaten the game and will be trading it in this Friday for Dungeon Siege 3.

Yup. That is the ONLY reason it is getting horrible (not bad) reviews. Minus the crude dialog and images, DNF might have the best storyline, gameplay, and graphics of all time. Yeah. That sounds about right.

This is why they hire 3rd parties, so when a group 2k chose to represent them not necessarily does something shady, but gets CAUGHT doing something shady - they can cut and run and look like the good guy. 2k does not deserve a pass here.

Having worked directly with this firm myself this is sad. People need to understand these PR companies are involved in a game's development nearly as much as the developers. Sure, he shouldn't have said what he did, but it was also taken out of context like everything usually is.

His firm brings up a valid point, though it will obviously be drowned out within all the negative press and it has to do with entitlement. Sites these days feel entitled to receive review copies and/or other goodies in order to help promote a product, and they think that gives them full reign to slander any game they want. I'm all for constructive criticism and complaints, however needlessly insulting a product like Duke Nukem: Forever is not okay. I don't care how popular your site is, or how much pull you think you have, you need to show the same courtesy and respect that these PR guys show you on a daily basis.

These sites are showing their true colors now. Before they would happily receive products from this firm and now they are hanging them out to dry for a few hits.

Recall the story that broke back when FFXIII first came out? There was a story of one of the big time companies giving a review score. Yet the person giving it had not even played the whole game yet. Like not even half. He was quickly busted by the readers.

Unfortunately that happens, I'm certainly not saying PR companies and publisher aren't guilty, but in this case several sites have overstepped their boundaries. As a owner of a gaming site myself, I wouldn't stand for this type of behavior from my staff.

I remember that because that's how I got to know about him and Destructoid, and everyone was talking about how he didn't have half of FF XIII's story related trophies but still earned (= sync) trophies from another game after posting his review.

Anyway we, as players, need to know what we're about to buy and reviews/reviewers are supposed to be helpful. Sometimes it seems like they don't realize the impact they have on sales and on how one would represent himself an entire franchise basing himself on reviews. They should always be accurate.

Of course, if the game is bad, it's bad. If everyone gives a similar score, then nobody's credibility is in danger.

Pretty much exactly the same as a lot of GT5 reviewer complaints...from the reviewers who hadn't played enough. Bad Ai, no damage, etc, all of which improves as you level up. Call it a learning curve if you will, clearly some reviewers didn't bother passing it.

Its this whole push for reviews days before the game is actually released (not saying this should get all the blame) pushing some reviewers to cut corners, etc.

Bravo, 2K. Any PR firm I've worked with accepts negative reviews just as graciously as positive ones, provided that the review is fair and backs up its points. If you're just spitting vitriol with no basis, you're not going to get any more games from PR firms anyway.

But if this PR firm was threatening to withhold games just because they weren't receiving glowing reviews, shame on them, and they deserve to be fired. 2K is willing to sleep in the bed they made, and it steps them up a bit in my book.

I wish more people would read in between the lines. Redner explicitly said that it wasn't the negativity that peeved him, it was the tone. The fact is, you can read a ton of Duke reviews and many will be plagued with that underlying feeling that the reviewer is egging at it more because of the legacy behind the game. Which is not okay.

I agree with what 2K did here ... but boy, some of those reviews out there. It's like these guys are looking for ANYTHING to start up some controversy and they see this 14-year-in-development game and they say "here's what's going to get us hits." Bashing bad reviews is one thing, but the guy is sorta right; bad scores are one thing, but people shouldn't be HATING on the game unless they're pissed it's taken this long, or duke nukem 3d screwed their wife, or ...